FRANKFORT – Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Cabinet Secretary Larry Hayes to be secretary of the state Economic Development Cabinet at $250,000 a year and named state budget director Mary Lassiter to replace Hayes as cabinet secretary.

Lassiter also will retain the position of budget director and make about $150,000 a year.

Beshear announced the personnel moves in news releases from his office.

Hayes has been interim economic development cabinet secretary since last September.

The Cabinet for Economic Development is responsible for creating new jobs and investment in the state.

Larry Hayes

Hayes was one of three finalists forwarded to the governor by the Economic Development Partnership Board this week. Beshear interviewed the three finalists this week in person before making the selection.

The two other finalists for the Economic Development Secretary were:

—Chad Newell, who is currently a developer with Newton Oldacre McDonald, a retail development firm in Nashville. Newell previously was executive vice president of the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham, Alabama.

—Rhonda Rice, executive administrator with Innovation Valley, Inc., a regional economic development partnership in East Tennessee, and executive vice president of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership.

As Cabinet Secretary, Hayes will serve as its chief executive officer, in charge of the day-to-day conduct of its affairs. He will report to the partnership board, which has set his annual compensation at $250,000 as part of a three-year contract.

The position will receive standard state employee benefits and, unlike previous contracts with former Cabinet secretaries, will contain no performance incentives or other such measures.

Hayes also will continue to take a voluntary 10 percent pay cut as he did as Secretary of the Cabinet for the rest of this year.

Of Lassiter’s appointment, Beshear said she “has earned the respect of members of every branch of government on both sides of the aisle.

Her salary also reflects the voluntary 10 percent pay cut that Beshear and other senior staff members took last year and continue to take this year.

Yes, this is just like the old days! He gets one job with a salary of $250,000 per year and she gets two jobs/positions and a salary of only $150,000. When Ol’Stevie Boy says he is for the working man, at least he got the man part right. Wake up Kentucky women! We have a tendency to continue to keep you down and our leadership is heading the charge! Wives and daughters deserve equal pay for equal work. Come on men, jump in on this. Don’t your female relatives deserve equality?

The one constant in Frankfort regardless of whether it’s the Dems or the Repubs in the Governor’s office………..the good ol boy network will survive. Why not bring in some outside talent with a track record in Econ Dev? Nope. Just another good ol boy……….politics!